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A TREATISE 




,Ji£)0 N 



WIRE FENCING; 



UNQUESTIONABLY PROVING ITS SUPERIORITY TO ANY 
ARTICLE HERETOFORE USED, FOR 



ORNAMENTAL GARDEN^.IVOpXv aRAPE, AJ^D/RO^E TliSLLISES, 

ETC., js, rc-i '" > 



DEDICATED TO AGEICULTTIEALISTS. 



J 
BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED BY JAMES E. BUTTS, JK. & CO. 

38 WATER STREET. 

18 5 6. 



9^ 






30^1.^^ 



Entered acsididftag to! A<j:t eft' C«niftr6ss»*lijthe i*ea]: Eighteen Hundred and Fifty-Six, 
CI '" ' ' Br JAMES E^ BUTTS, °JE. &*'C0. 

In the Clcrli's'0ffi'fl!|OC,''t& CKstKc'tSCaurtiof the DisJri'cft<,of Massachusetts. 



IVI4. 



Printed by 
Stacy & Richakd9o;», 1 
No. U Milk Street, '. . . 

BOSTON. •'' 



^^i^FACTS ON^^^ 




The object of this pamphlet, or circular, is to call the 
attention of agriculturists, horticulturists, arboriculturists, 
railroad superintendents, keepers of agricultural warehouses, 
and all who are in any way interested in the subject of 
Fences, to the new and improved Woven Wire Fence, manu- 
factured bj Messrs. J. E. Butts, Jr. & Co., and known as 

Every farmer knows that this subject of Fences is one of 
the highest importance, and one which is becoming more and 
more important every year. The cost of his Fences is the 
most serious drawback on the usually very moderate income 
of the American farmer ; nothing pinches so hardly his 
means of life and competence. If it be true, as Henry 
Ward Beecher humorously remarks, — that "the interest 
which a man takes in anything, is always proportioned to the 
amount of himself which he has put into it ; and a man who 
has earned his living on a farm, must have put a great deal 
of himself into it;" — if this be true, we say every farmer 
must certainly feel much interested in the matter of his 
Fences, and in every improvement which affects them. 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 



THE "PENCE OPPRESSION." 

The amount of capital invested and expended in the con- 
struction and repair of the Fences of the United States, 
would be deemed fabulous, were it not for the estimates sup- 
ported by statistical facts which cannot be denied. A well 
known agricultural writer — Burnap — estimates that " the 
Fences of this country cost more than twenty times 

THE amount of ALL THE SPECIE THAT IS IN IT ! " Another 

well known agricultural writer — Biddle — most justly ob- 
serves, that "it is this enormous burdeti which keeps down 
the agricultural interests of this country/, causing an untold 
expenditure, besides the loss of land the Fences occupy/." 
Mr. Biddle, indeed, made a profound and careful estimate, 
some years ago, that " the Fences of the State of Pennsyl- 
vania alone, cost no less than $100,000,000, together with 
an annual expenditure, in repairs, of at least ^10,000,000 !" 
Such being the burden imposed by the Fences of one State 
alone, how truly enormous must be the cost of the Fences of 
all the States combined ! 

We but quote the words of a distinguished writer thor- 
oughly familiar with this subject, when we say that, '•' strange 
as it may seem, the greatest investment in this country, the 
most costly productions of human industry, are the common 
Fences, which divide the fields from the highways, and sep- 
arate them from each other. No man dreams that when 
compared with the outlay for those unpretending monuments 
of art, our cities and our towns, with all their wealth, are left 
far behind." Yet such is the fact. Were there no new mode 
of Fence, such as this " Lowell Wire Fence," whereby a 
large proportion of this expense may be saved, we verily 
believe it would be better to dispense with Fences altogether, 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 5 

after the fashion in vogue on the Continent of Europe, than 
to endure the ruinous tax which our farmers in many regions 
now endure, through the present modes of Fencing. No 
other country — England and Holland excepted — is thus 
burdened. Hence there has long been great demand for 
some new, cheap, and substantial mode of Fence, capable of 
being conveniently substituted for the costly and unsubstan- 
tial styles of Fencing now in vogue. 



DEFECTS OP THE PRESENT MODES OP 
PENCING. 

The common worm Fence consumes too much timber, 
occupies too much land, and too soon goes to decay ; the post- 
and-rail Fence also consumes too much timber, and too soon 
goes to decay, and besides this, it requires too much labor in 
building, and too frequent repair, to meet the wants, and to 
be supplied by the limited means of the farmer. As timber 
enhances in value, this difficulty increases. Most of our 
States are composed of prairie land, and are but sparsely 
supplied with timber of any kind. The great primeval 
forests of America are rapidly receding before the westward 
tide of civilization, like the "red children" by whom they 
were once inhabited. Wood, therefore, can not be relied 
upon as a material for Fencing, cheap and substantial. Nor 
can STONE supply the place of wood. Where the material is 
abundant, stone walls answer the purpose very well ; but 
there are few localities where the material abounds. Neither 
can quickset hedges be depended on. South of the lati- 
tude of Philadelphia, the Osage Orange has been cultivated 
with some success, as a hedge plant; but north of that 



6 A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 

latitude, the frosts of Winter are too often found to be fatal to 
it. Hedges, however, are so long coming to maturity ; they 
occupy so much land, require so much care, and are so sub- 
ject to destruction in many ways, that, at best they furnish 
but a poor substitute for Avood and stone, as a material for 
Fences. 

Mr. Solon Kobinson, one of the editorial staff of the 
New York Tribune, has observed that, in all his travels, 
east, west, north, and south, he has seen " one, and only one, 
good hedge Fence ; " and that, he adds, "was supported on 
one side by a rail Fence, and on the other by a board Fence." 
It has been mentioned by an intelligent English writer, that 
' ' the land consumed by hedges in England, would be suffi- 
cient to grow several millions of bushels of grain." 

Wire Strands have been tried for Fencing, with some 
success, especially in England, where iron is one-third, and 
labor one-half, cheaper than here. But the strands become 
so loose by expansion by the heat of Summer, and are so 
frequently snapped and broken by contraction by the cold of 
Winter, that, in this country, few farmers can be persuaded 
to adopt them at all ; and those who have tried the experi- 
ment of wire strands once, have seldom been seen to repeat 
the experiment again. This trouble incident to the expansion 
and contraction of the wire strands, is so great, that Colonel 
C apron, of Laurel, Md., who is experienced in these mat- 
ters, in a recently published letter, says, "that even in short 
lines, the wires may be so slackened, in a hot day, that a 
long-nosed hog may wedge his way through." In "The 
Lowell Wire Fence," this difficulty is completely coun- 
teracted — the peculiar mode of its texture enabling it to 
experience the contraction and expansion caused by the 
changes in the temperature of the atmosphere, without in 
the slightest degree impairing its efficiency as a Fence. 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 



IRON THE TRUE MATERIAL FOR 

FENCES. 

But although these experiments in Iron Fence, made of 
wire strands running from post to post, have generally proved 
unsatisfactory, all who have given the subject the attention it 
deserves, have agreed in the conclusion, that iron wire is, 
after all, the true material for Fencing. This conclusion 
being arrived at, the only remaining difficulty lay in the want 
of suitable machinery to manufacture the ivire into such a 
fabric as would serve as a Fence, more economically and ex- 
peditiously than it ivas possible to manufacture it hy hand 
work. Inventive genius made many attempts to produce the 
desired machinery, which proved failures. At length, these 
eflforts, or one of them, were crowned with success. 

In 1853, the machines now used in manufacturing the 
Fence, were invented and put in operation, and the long 
wished-for result was attained. Letters Patent were pro- 
cured for the invention, and "The Lowell Wire Fence 
Company " was speedily organized, for the purpose of man- 
ufacturing and introducing the new material into general use. 
The business flourished ; the efforts of the Company's agent — 
Mr. Charles Cowley — brought the Fence into general 
notice and favor ; and all Avho tried it voted it a capital 
thing. Early in the Winter of 1855, the machinery of the 
Company was purchased by Messrs J. E. Butts, Jr. & Co., 
who are the manufacturers of this admirable Fence at the 
present time. 



A TREATISE ON AVIRE FENCING. 



DESCRIPTION OP THE WIRE PENCE. 

This Fence, as will be seen bj reference to the within cuts, 
consists of a substantial and beautiful netting or web-work, 
not unlike a fisherman's seine, but coarser. Different kinds 
of it, adapted to different uses, are woven of various widths, 
from a few inches to four feet. The wire itself, which is 
annealed, varies in size and number, — some kinds containing 
wire about one-third, and some only about one-sixteenth of 
an inch in diameter, — the number of the wire in the several 
kinds ranging from No. 8 to No. 15, — according to the 
character of the Fence desired, and the use for which it is 
designed. The meshes or open squares are also graduated in 
the several kinds, from one to six inches. 

The Fence is varnished with asphaltum blacking, which 
protects it from oxidizing or rusting, and imparts to it a 
brilliant black color ; but the same purposes may be served 
by coating it with gas tar, japanning, paint, or by galvaniz- 
ing. Being too strong for an ox, and too close for a hen, it 
forms an impassable barrier to all farm stock. Board Fences 
are apt to be blown down by gales ; this Fence does not catch 
the wind at all ; and, being of iron, it cannot be injured by 
fire, by which wood Fences are so often destroyed. Unlike 
walls and hedges, it does not confine the heat, being open in 
its meshes, and admitting freely the genial rays of the sun, 
so conducive to vegetation. Neither does this Fence occupy 
the soil, engender weeds, nor harbor vermin, as is the case 
with walls and hedges. Neither does it interrupt the view 
of the land, nor require repair from year to year ; — a 
re-coating of varnish once in four or five years being the 
only source of expense with it, after it has once been well set 
up. Few Fences, of the ordinary kinds, last more than 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 9 

twenty years ; but this is calculated to last a century or 
more. One of the leading agricultural periodicals of the 
day, says of it : — " While other Iron Fences are seriously 
injured by the alternate expansion and contraction, occa- 
sioned by the changes incident to the temperature of the 
atmosphere, this, by the novel and ingenious manner in 
which its wires are knit or woven together, is enabled to 
undergo these changes of temperature, and the expansion 
and contraction occasioned thereby, without the slightest 
deterioration or injury." 

The posts to which the Fence is secured, are of wood ; but 
they may be of iron or stone ; or trees may be used in lieu 
of posts, where convenient. The Fence is raised from four 
to twelve inches from the level of the ground, and is drawn 
straight and moderately tight, and kept upon an exact level 
(or regular inclination) from one end to another. The posts 
are set, say ten feet apart, and to these the netting is secured 
by staples, (or by screws with hook-heads,) one staple being 
used to each lateral wire at each post ; and no rails whatever 
are needed. 

The prices of the several kinds vary, according to the 
height and weight of the Fence, the size of the mesh, the 
number and dimensions of the wire, etc. The Fence is 
furnished in portable rolls of from 20 to 25 rods each ; and 
any farmer has sufficient mechanical skill to buy it, unroll it, 
and set it up as he pleases. 



ILLUSTRATIVE 








m^ 



No. 1. 




-ssr 



No. 1 is 3| feet high, with meshes (or open spaces) 3 inches square; 4 
lateral wires of No. 10 wire, run through the hody of the Fence, which is of 
No. 14 (or No. 15) wire. The weight is ten lbs., and the price is $2.00 per 
lineal rod (IG^feet). 



This stjle is beautifully adapted for front, or garden 
Fences, where strength is required. 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 



11 



No. 




No. 2 is precisely like the first kind, except that there are but two lateral 
(or straight) wires in it — one at the top, and another at the bottom of the 
Fence. This weighs 9 lbs., and is $1.75 per rod. 

Suitable for light garden work, Heneries, &c., and affording 
an admirable protection for Hedges, &c. 



No. 3. 




No. 3 is 2| feet high,' with meshes 3 inches square ; it has 3 lateral No. 10 
wires, with the body work of No. 14 wire. It weighs 7|- lbs., and is $1.50 
per rod. 

When finished in panels of wood or iron work, this style 
forms a durable and ornamental front yard Fence. 



12 A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 



No. 4. 




No. 4 is precisely like the third kind, save that the lateral wire in the 
middle is omitted. It weighs 6 J lbs., and is $1.37f per rod. 

Suited for the protection of low Hedges, and for wide 
Trellises, &c., &c. 



No. 5. 




No. 5 is 16 inches high, with meshes 3 inches square ; there are two 
lateral (outside) wires of No. 12 wire ; the body is of No. 15. It weighs 4 J 
lbs., and is 75 cents per rod. 

It is used for ornamental garden work, and all kinds of 
Trellises, as well as for low Fences, Borders, and for sur- 
mounting Fences, as seen in the cut. 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 13 



No. 5. 




The accompanying cuts repre- 
sent the same description of 
Fence, as applied to Rose-Trel- 
lises and Door- Arbors, &c. 




14 A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING, 



No. 6. 




No. 6 is 3| feet high, with meshes 6 inches square ; it has four lateral No. 
10 wires, and the body work of No. 12 wire. It weighs 10 lbs., and is $1.25 
per rod. 



This kind makes the best and most practicable barrier 
against cattle, around Fields, along Canals, Railroads, etc. 
Some of the Railroad Companies have already adopted it. 
Indeed, it is emphatically a Railroad Fence. 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 



15 



No. 6, EXTRA. 




No. 6 Extra is of the same dimensions as No. 6, the wires being one num- 
ber heavier throughout. It is 3j feet high ; the lateral wires are of No. 8, 
and the body of No. 11 wire. It weighs 12 lbs., and is $1.50 per rod. 



This style is suitable for exposed situations, Road-Fences, 
and wherever an unusual degree of strength is required. 



16 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 



No. 7. 




No. 7 is precisely like the sixth kind, except that the two middle lateral 
wires are omitted. It weighs 8|- lbs., and is $1.00 per rod. 

It is the cheapest Sheep Fence that can be erected. It 
is admirably adapted for Trellis work, for Grape Vines 
and Roses, for Gardens, &c. Its strength and cheapness 
render it particularly suited for Division-Fences ; while for 
Prairie lands it is at onne-tije most <jconomical and appro- 
priate Fence ever devised. 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 17 



No. 8. 




No. 8 is of the same size wires as Nos. 6 and 7. It has three lateral wires 
running through the Fence, and is $1.12 per rod. 

Well adapted for Deer-Parks, Cattle Enclosures, Ceme- 
teries, &c. 



Appropriate GATES for any of llie preceding: styles 
of Fence are manufactured by us, witli either llVood 
or Iron Frames, as may be desired. 



18 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 




GARDEN SUMMER HOUSES OR ARBORS. 



The different sizes of woven wire can be admirably em- 
ployed in the erection of Ornamental Arbors, for private 
gardens, or public grounds. The frame-work of light wood 
can be readily covered with the wire netting, as seen in the 
cut ; the whole forming one of the cheapest, lightest and most 
airy styles of Summer houses ever introduced. 

By a different arrangement of the wood work, the form 
and general appearance of these Arbors can be endlessly di- 
versified, according to the taste or means of the proprietor. 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 



19 




WIRE NETTING. 



In connection with the manufacture of Wire Fence, we 
also furnish a lighter fabric of a finer mesh, suitable for 
Window Guards, Gratings, Borders, light Trellises, &c. 
This netting, manufactured of various widths, from 13 to 28 
inches, from Nos. 15, 16 or 17 wire, is also woven by machin- 
ery, and is sold at from seven to ten cents per square foot, 
being less than one half the former prices. When varnished 
like the fence, or coated with paint of different colors, this 
fabric forms a light, graceful, and at the same time adequate 
protection for nursery windows, the costly and ornamental 
windows of Churches, Stores, Conservatories, &c. It is 
also useful for the protection of Hot-air Flues, Drains, Sky- 
lights, Steps, and many other purposes, to which it has only 
to be experimentally applied to ensure entire satisfaction. 



WHAT IS SAID OP 




BY THOSE WHO HAVE TRIED THEM. 



Several thousand letters have been received by the 
manufacturers of the Wire Fence, from farmers and others 
who have practically tested it during the last two years, and 
who all agree, without one dissenting voice, that it is what 
the inventors and manufacturers claim it to be — a strong, 
lasting, neat and economical Fence. 

We shall now proceed to give a few extracts from some of 
these letters, only premising that 

" what you have here is a sample of all ; " 



and that these samples might be extended to the extent of 
several volumes. 

Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, President of the United 
States Agricultural Society, was among the first to examine 
and test the merits of this mode of Fence ; and in a letter to 
Mr. Co\Yley, the Agent of the Lowell Wire Fence Company, 
by whom this style of Fence was first introduced, he thus 
speaks of it : — 



I 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 21 

"Dorchester, January IZih, 1855. 

" Charles Cowley, Esq., Agent, &c. : — 

"Dear Sir, — I have recently examined some of the netting of the 
Lowell Wire Fence Company, for Fences, Trellises, &c. From my own 
experience and that of others, I cannot doubt that it is perfectly practicable 
as a Fence for fields and gardens, or that it is well adapted to all uses where 
a strong, .close, elegant, economical and durable Fence is required. Where 
stone is not abundant, or where lumber is expensive, as in many of our 
States, I should deem it the most practicable Fence that could be procured. 
If our Eailroads are hereafter to be enclosed — as safety and economy de- 
mand — they can scarcely be fenced cheaper or better than by this mode of 
Fence. The stouter kinds of this netting are of such strength, that cattle 
could not easily peneti-ate or pass it ; while the closeness of the lighter 
kinds, renders them admirably available for Garden uses, Heneries, and 
Poultry Fences. Fencing like this, has for some years been extensively 
used in Great Britain ; and, since it can now be made at a much less cost, 
by machinery, it would seem to be equally adaptive to the United States. I 
know of no Fencing so good as this, that can be procured for $1.50 per rod, 
the highest price asked for the most costly kinds of this netting ; and this 
is, probably, the only Fencing of equal merit that can be bought for $1.50 
per rod. 

" As a material for Rose-Trellises, Grape-Trellises, and ornamental work 
in Gardens, I think it unequalled in cheapness, durability and beauty, by 
anything yet devised. It will, without doubt, eventually be received into 
general use, when its merits are appreciated by the public. 

" Yours, respectfully, 

MARSHALL P. WILDER." 

Richard S. Fay, Esq., of Lynn, says: — 

" I have used the Lowell Wire Fence during the past Summer, 
(1855,) for folding sheep at night on land that I wished to manure, shifting 
once or more every week, and I have found it to answer the purpose per- 
fectly. * * * My Fence cost $1.50 per rod, and it is a cheap 
mode of hurdling or inclosing at that price. I understand now that it is 
made much cheaper." 

Col. R. B. Mason, Superintendent of the Illinois Cen- 
tral Railroad, speaks highly of this Fence, especially as used 



22 A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 

"in the parks and lawns and gladed surroundings of gentle- 
men's estates." His letter concludes : — 

" However, experience in all these matters is the true touchstone of merit, 
and time and trial may show your Fence to be just what we want, and of 
great value to the country." 

Mr. Logan Sleeper, well known as the St. Louis agent 
of a Company devoted to the growth of Hedges in the West, 
writes as follows : — 

" The cost of Fences now in all parts of the country proximate to this 
City, (St. Louis, Mo.,) is becoming enormous. There are large quantities of 
Plank Fence made, which cost not less than $900 per mile; and some 
around lots nearer to the city, which cost at a rate exceeding $1000 per 
mile ! There is considerable stir in the country, about Hedge Fences, but 
it is not (jeneral. The yas< people of the West want a Fence to be available 
quicker than a Hedge can be. And many would have a Hedge grown, if 
they could have a Fence to protect it that would not cost beyond all reason, 
and be durable and removable. I think your Fence will fill an important 
desideratum. * * * For two years I have been acquainting 
myself generally with the expenses of Fencing ; and I know what the 
burden is." 

Mr. S. Noble, of Dixon, 111., writes that this Fence is 
"just the thing for this country. Our land is pretty much 
prairie, which renders Fencing material very scarce and 
high," Messrs. Alexander, Howell & Co., of Dixon, 
also say : "we are satisfied, after having had an opportunity 
to examine it and test it, that it is just the kind of Fence for 
our prairies." 

Otis Brewer, Esq., of Boston, says : — 

" I had the first that you manufactured, and have recommended it pri- 
vately, and also through my journal, (the Boston Cultivator,) and have had 
many to examine it, and make inquiries in relation to it ; and I believe all 
have been favorably impressed with regard to its utility for general use." 

D WIGHT Jarvis, Esq., of Massillon, 0., after an ex- 
tended and highly favorable notice of this Fence, observes — 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 23 



" This subject of Fencing is one of no common importance, and is daily 
assuming more and more of the attention of considerate men, in all parts of 
the country. In this part of Ohio, being the wheat growing region, timber 
lands are commanding almost as high prices as improved farms. The ques- 
tion is daily asked, What shall we do for Fencing ? " 

Mr. G. P. Hewitt, of Milwaukee, Wis., after comment- 
ing at some length on the scarcitj and enormous cost of 
timber in his State, expresses his conviction that this Wire 
Fence " will be generally adopted in this country, where 
Hedges are impracticable, and where stone or even wooden 
Fences are so expensive." 

Robert C. Cambell, Esq., a planter in the Valley of 
the Brazos River, Texas, writing from North Bend, says : 

" I see plainly that I shall shortly have to employ something else besides 
rails for Fencing. This State presents a large surface of territory destitute 
of timber ; — and hence the valuable prairie lands must prove worthless for 
production, unless a cheap and lasting Fencing can be used. The kind 
made by you will, I think, produce the desired character of enclosure." 

S. M. Felton, Esq., President of the Philadelphia, 
Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company, was among 
the first to examine and test the practicability of this Wire 
Fence. The first experiment to test its utility as a Rail- 
road Fence, was made on this road, and was a perfect 
success. 



^c<r 



24 A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 



AGENTS 



Jf0r t|e ^ale of % lEirc Jfciitt 



In many of the principal Cities of the Union, agencies 
have been established for the sale of this new article of 
merchandise ; and large quantities of it have been sold. 
Indeed, in consequence of the limited number of machines 
heretofore employed in the production of the Fence, the 
demand for it has far exceeded the capacity of the manufac- 
turers to supply. This want has since been removed by the 
construction of additional machinery. Orders for any 
amount, from twenty rods to as many miles, are now filled 
with promptness and dispatch. 



WHAT THE NEWSPAPERS SAY 



— OF THE — 



WIRE FENCE 




The American Press, through its many-tongued organs, 
has been unanimous in its praises of this new mode of 
Fencing. The Agricultural Journals, as being the most 
immediately concerned in affairs of this kind, have especially 
commended it. Should the objection be started, that many 
editors sell their "puffs" for money, and that these "notices 
of the press " may have been purchased, our answer is 
this: — Not one dollar has ever been paid to any 

EDITOR or publisher FOR A NOTICE OF THIS FeNCE. 

We appeal to the whole editorial fraternity in support of this 
statement. These notices are the gratuitous testimonials of 
an enlightened and unbiased fraternity of Journalists, to an 
improvement which they deemed of great importance to their 
country. 

The Plough, Loom and Anvil, in its January number, 
1855, after speaking at length on the imperative demand for 
"some better mode of Fence than any now in vogue," and 
after mentioning that the conclusion was inevitable, that 
" tvire would eventually be adopted as the staple material for 
Fences," says : — 

" But the difficulty heretofore has been found in the want of a machine for 
the manufacture of Wire or other Iron into Fencing. That machine has now 



26 A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 

been invented, patented, started, and the netting made by it successfully and 
extensively tried for Fencing. The Lowell Wire Tence Company are the 
manufacturers of this Fencing, which they claim to be, and perhaps cor- 
rectly, the cheapest, considering its strength, closeness, durability, and 
beauty, in the world. Thus has the great necessity of American agriculture 
been supplied, by an invention which will, without doubt, produce, at least 
in some sections of country, a considerable revolution in our system of 
Fencing. * * * * The farmer who has not a surjilus of 
wood or stone on his farm, can find no Fence so admirably adapted to his 
wants, by cheapness, strength, portability, durableness, beauty and economy, 
as this. By an outlay of less than a dollar and a half per rod, with a little 
personal labor, and a few posts, he can erect a substantial Farm-Fence, im- 
passable to cattle, sheep, or pigs, which will survive when he is no more, to 
his children and his children's children." 

In the February number, 1855, of the same Journal, were 
published cuts and full descriptions of all the kinds then 
made, of this Fence. In conclusion, the editors say : — 

" We regard the introduction of the Fencing above-portrayed, as a bles- 
sing to all the farmers of our country. That it will, in a great measure, 
supersede all our present modes of Fencing, is an opinion concurred in by 
its inventor, by the Company organized to manufacture it, and by all, 
whether practical agriculturists or scientific theorists, who have tried or 
examined it." 

The Northern Farmer, of Woodstock, Vt., closes an 
elaborate article on this Fence, as follows : — 

" We regard this Fence as eminently adapted to the wants of our farmers. 
Its cheapness will increase the demand for it until every landscape in the 
Union shall be embroidered with it." 

The American Agriculturist pronounces it an "admirable 
Fence," and assures its readers that it is eminently "worthy 
of attention." 

The Progressive Farmer deems it a 

" Highly desirable substitute for rail Fencing, being admirably adapted for 
enclosures of all kinds, and as no rails are required, the netting being 
fastened to posts of wood, iron or stone, set from ten to fifteen feet apart, it 
is easily put up, and is coated in various ways to beautify and preserve it. 



A TREATISE ON WIRE EENCING. 



27 



* * * * The day has come when other material than 
unsightly and costly split rails must be adopted for Fencing purposes. Our 
forests are rapidly disappearing, and with them, the supply of Fencing 
materials hitherto commonly used. "What is now to be done l * * * 
Iron has recently been adapted to so many purposes, for which wood only 
was formerly used, that we almost instinctively turn to it as a cheap and 
very fitting substitute for wood, in Fencing. Wire Fences, possessing 
strength, neatness, and durability, have been used. *= * * A suffi- 
cient advance has now been made in this direction, to justify the hope that 
we shall yet have Wire Fencing, which can be profitably introduced." 

The Farm Journal, published in Philadelphia, pronounces 
the Fence a first rate thing, and, as evidence of this, refers 
to the fact, "that considerable quantities of it have been 
successfully tried." 

The Northern Farmer, published at Utica, New York, 
after giving illustrative cuts and descriptions of the Wire 
Fence, remarks : — 

" The great cost of durable Fencing, to which the rural proprietors of this 
country have been subjected, has led to various new inventions to answer as 
substitutes for Rails, Boards, and Stone Walls. Nothing, however, seems 
to have come up, in neatness, cheapness, and durability, to the Wire 
Fencing." 

The Union Bepublican, published at Staunton, Virginia, 
expresses the opinion, among other things, that "for cheap- 
ness and utility, this Fence is superior to any article hereto- 
fore used," for purposes of enclosure. 

The Richmond (^Va.') Enquirer speaks of this as "cheap 
and handsome ; " and, the editor having successfully appro- 
priated some of the lighter kinds for the purpose of a Garden 
Bower, says : — 

" We can truly say, that for Grape and Rose Trellises, Garden Bowers, 
and such work, the woven wire answers admirably." 

The New England Farmer has, on several occasions, 
favored this Fence with particular attention. Before a rod of 



28 A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 

it had been sold or tried, this paper gave publicity to the 
prediction, that it would, in the end, supersede all other 
modes of enclosure, in many parts of the Union. In Jan- 
uary, 1855, the same journal published cuts of the Fence, 
and closed its notice as follows : — 

"All who have examined or tried it, attest that it possesses in the highest 
degree, those seven cardinal qualities in a perfect Fence or Trellis-work — 
strength, closeness, beauty, lightness, portability, cheapness, and durability." 

The Massachusetts Ploughman observes : — 

" That it is impossible to doubt that this invention wiU produce a com- 
plete change in our mode of fencing — a change greatly diminishing the 
cost of the Fence itself, and the labor required in its construction and appli- 
cation in use. "We hail it as one of the most useful inventions of the age, 
and commend it to our readers for their adoption." 

The Massillon (0.) News, remarks: — 

" The manufacture of this Wire Fence is rapidly becoming more and 
more important ; and the demand for it throughout the Union, especially in 
the West, where the scarcity of timber renders it a valuable aid to the 
agriculturist, is largely increasing." 

The Boston Cultivator says : — 

" We have heard it highly recommended by persons who have tried it, 
among whom we may mention E. S. Fat, Esq., of Lynn. * * * 
This mode of Fencing is fast getting into general use ; and it is not im- 
probable that it will eventually supersede Wood Fences and Stone Walls, in 
all those districts not containing large quantities of rock. The agricultural 
and scientific press have applauded it; men of theory have attested its 
praise ; practical men have tried it, and set to it the zeal of their unanimous 
approbation ; nor can any man question its ultimate success." 

The American Phrenologist remarks : — 

" Theoretical agriculturists have devoted much time to disputes in rela- 
tion to Fences. They have tried Stone Walls, Hedges, the rickety-post-and 
rail Fence, ' Worm Fences,' and many kinds which now have scarcely a 
memory left, and none of these have been entirely successful. * * * 



A TREATISE ON WIRE FENCING. 29 

In vie-w of the repeated failures of inventive genius to produce a suitable 
Fence for farm purposes, certain parties [the inventors of this Wire Eence] 
essayed to put forward a style of enclosure which, formed wholly of Iron 
Wire, would be made with readiness to meet at least the following require- 
ments : 1. Lightness; 2. Strength ; 3. Portability; 4. Durability, It is 
believed that these desiderata have been attained at the present time. Wire 
Fences are found to meet demands that were previously unsupplied, and in 
England, as in this country, their use thus far has been attended with 
success. We commend the invention to the notice of our readers, believing 
that they will find in it peculiar advantages that will repay an examination. 
Wire Fences possess advantages over others, in that they disfigure no land- 
scape, obstruct no lawn ; and that they enhance, rather than destroy the 
symmetry and beauty of ornamental grounds. Needing few or no repairs, 
pulling heavily upon no man's purse, and susceptible of receiving the most 
tasteful forms, the Wire Fence may justly be voted a good thing." 

The Chicago Democrat thus describes this Fence : — 

" It is the best possible kind of Iron Fence for the Prairies. The numer- 
ous experiments tried heretofore, sometimes with large sized wire, and at 
others with flat hoop-iron, running in straight lines, have not met the general 
acceptance of farmers. Fencing, everywhere, is a very serious item to far- 
mers, and upon the prairies, where timber is scarce, is much more expensive 
than in the Eastern States. * * * The point to be aimed at 
now is cheapness and durability, and the invention above referred to seems 
to combine both of these requisites." 

Among other papers which have also extended to this 
valuable Fence their kind approval, we may mention the 
Southern Planter^ the Ohio Farmer, the Cleveland Plain- 
Dealer^ the New York Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the 
Washington Organ, the Stockton Tribune, the North Western 
Christian Advocate, the New York Times, and News, the 
Lowell {Mass.') Courier, and Citizen, and manj other 
journals in all parts of the country ; but we must confine 
ourselves to the extracts already given, without adding 
more, as we are preparing only a pamphlet, and not a bulky 
volume. 




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